Lawmakers reach a bipartisan deal ‘in principle’ to fund the government

Top congressional appropriators announced on Thursday that they've reached a “deal in principle“ to fund the federal government and boost defense and domestic budgets by $49 billion in fiscal 2020, with plans for a House vote as early as Tuesday.

The bipartisan agreement would avert a government shutdown that otherwise would kick in when a stopgap spending bill expires on Dec. 20, or yet another stopgap that would stretch into the new year.

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Negotiators are keeping most details of the long-delayed bipartisan agreement under wraps until lawmakers and staff can work through a host of technicalities over the weekend. The compromise includes bipartisan consensus on a host of sticking points that once seemed insurmountable, including President Donald Trump’s border wall, his ability to reshuffle federal funds for a Southern barrier and whether to restore military construction funds that he raided for the wall, according to an individual familiar with the deal.

A second person familiar with the agreement said it would provide flat funding for Trump’s wall at nearly $1.4 billion and that it wouldn’t restore military construction funding. The deal would also maintain Trump’s ability to divert federal cash for a Southern barrier, although a federal judge just blocked his move earlier this year to tap $3.6 billion in military funds, the individual said.

The House and Senate will likely look to pass all 12 appropriations bills in two big packages, or “minibuses.”

“We’ll have a good product that we can vote on Tuesday,” House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) told reporters after huddling with other spending leaders. “As in any appropriations process, you have to work through some disagreements and respect the views of all parties. And I feel very good about this product.“

While the White House hasn’t formally endorsed the deal, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with top appropriators twice this week, including earlier Thursday. Mnuchin has stressed that the president supports their endeavor to pass a dozen fiscal 2020 spending bills before the Dec. 20 deadline.

“We’ve had a good day,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who noted that Mnuchin has faithfully negotiated on behalf of the administration. “We had some serious discussions, and we believe that we’re where we need to be.“

The compromise likely won’t satisfy the entire House Democratic caucus, particularly when it comes to immigration issues. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Lowey on Wednesday morning to push for new restrictions on Trump’s authority to reshuffle federal funds for a border wall. But White House officials have been clear that such restrictions would tank the president’s support.

“Look, there are some people in the Congress — or in any group — that only want 100 percent of what they want,” Lowey said. “And life isn’t that way. You sometimes have to respect others and make some compromises. But I think this bill reflects our values very well.”

It’s also unclear how the deal will treat other hot-button issues, such as federal spending on gun violence research, and certain parochial projects pursued by congressional leaders.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy wanted the funding deal to include language that would allow more water to be stored in the Shasta Lake reservoir in Northern California — an increase in water height that many Democrats and environmental groups oppose. According to a Republican aide, it would be fair to include the Shasta Lake provision if Pelosi gets her wish of including language making $10 million available to the Presidio project in San Francisco.

The agreement allows Congress to move ahead on $22 billion more for defense and $27 billion more for non-defense budgets compared to fiscal 2019 — levels secured by a bipartisan budget accord struck this summer.

The four leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees, who often boast of their history of working well together, announced the deal together.

“When you’re dealing with 12 bills that affect every community around the country, you try and do the best you can and make sure you’re making life better for the most people you can,” said Lowey, who’s retiring at the end of her term in 2020. “That’s why I love being on appropriations, because you really can do some good things.“

“You always want to retire at the top of your game and not wait ‘til you fall off a cliff,” the chairwoman quipped.